THE NEW WORLD: A BILLIONAIRE CAN SINGLE-HANDLEDLY PROP UP A PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN THE VOTERS HAVE REJECTED -- Colbert to announce White House plan - Gingrich simmers down

TOP TALKER – “Colbert ponders W.H. bid,” by MJ Lee: “With a [PPP] poll showing him beating Jon Huntsman in South Carolina, comedian Stephen Colbert asked his fans Wednesday night if he should jump into the race and he promised a special announcement TONIGHT. Colbert was agonizing over which Republican presidential candidate to support ahead of the South Carolina primary in his search for a ‘non-Mitt Romney’ candidate when the answer suddenly came to him: ‘Oh my God! It’s me!’ ‘It all makes so much sense! …[M]y heart always leads me to me! And I am so not Mitt!’ Colbert said as his fans broke into applause and cheers.

“‘But wait, wait, wait, that’s crazy! These guys have been running for a year now. How can I ever compete with an established candidate like Jon Huntsman? … I’m sorry, Governor Huntsman. I guess the Colbert bump reflected off of you and bounced back to me. That happens in the rare instances when my guests are whiter than I am.’”

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--MORE COLBERT: “"This just got real. A major pollster has me at 5 percent, ahead of the third place finisher in New Hampshire. I gotta ask, Nation: What do you think? Should I run for president in South Carolina? [Wild cheering.] … But that's a really big decision. First, I need to pray on it. [Pauses for less than a second.] OK, God's good with it. But obviously, I still have to go home, sit down, and talk it over with my money. So please join me [tonight] when I will make a major announcement here on the report. There will be special guests and a historic decision.”

WARREN BUFFETT is on the cover of TIME as “The Optimist: Why Warren Buffett is bullish on America,” by economic columnist Rana Foroohar: “[I]n the past year, his good fortune has … turned him into one of America’s most unexpected radicals. He’s an ardent capitalist who is demanding higher taxes on the rich and more government spending on the rest … Although he is giving away 99% of his $45 billion fortune, he operates less out of a sense of noblesse oblige than noblesse outrage. The country that made him rich is lousy with bailout billionaires, a culture of selfishness and a loss of opportunities. …

“At 81, Buffett says he’s in a unique position to speak out. ‘If you are a CEO or you have to deal with a conservative board or you have a boss that might get upset by what you say, you can’t do what I do. But I don’t have a boss. It’s hard to hurt me. If you don’t speak up now, when are you going to? As my partner Charlie told me, it’s like saving up sex for your old age!’ … Buffett feels the President missed an opportunity to do that right after he took office. But he’s optimistic that it can still be done. ‘We need to tell people that the road is going to be long. We’ve got too many damn houses. They’re not going to go away. This recovery is going to take a long time. And the financial crisis has exposed a lot of flaws in our system.’” See the cover.http://ti.me/HKI7

--RICHARD STENGEL, “Editor’s Desk”: “This week marks Warren Buffett’s first appearance on the cover of Time. I’m not sure how he’s avoided it until now, but he’s using this moment in his long and storied career to speak out about what the U.S. should do to move forward. … He is dubious about the conventional wisdom that education and innovation can solve our economic woes. He believes a certain percentage of any nation’s population will of necessity be poor. And he thinks demography is destiny and America’s demographics will return us to glory.”

POLITICO and FACEBOOK team up to measure GOP candidate buzz: Partnership will also survey voting-age Facebook users in S.C. – Joint release: “Facebook will compile mentions of the candidates in U.S. users' posts and comments as well as assess positive and negative sentiments expressed about them. Facebook’s data team will use automated software tools … to infer sentiment from text. … POLITICO and Facebook will also survey voting-age users in South Carolina on a daily basis. POLITICO’s editorial team will write the questions and publish the survey results … The results will also be available on POLITICO’s Facebook page as well as on U.S. Politics on Facebook, Facebook’s hub for campaign 2012 information.”

THE REV. AL SHARPTON, pressed by “Morning” Joe Scarborough to say something nice about Tim Tebow: “ I’m a fan of 3:16.” Maybe that’ll catch on as a nickname for TeBro. His 80-yard overtime bullet to Demaryius Thomas last Sunday, which gave the Broncos their overtime playoff win over the Steelers, is known on ESPN as the “ Hail Demaryius” or “ Hail ’Maryius.”

GINGRICH SOUNDS LIKE HE MAY BACK OFF BAIN JIHAD -- AP: “Newt Gingrich [said on ‘Fox & Friends’ that] questions he's raising about Mitt Romney's record as a venture capitalist are ‘not the centerpiece’ of his campaign in South Carolina. The former House speaker said Romney's record as head of the equity firm Bain Capital is ‘an important question,’ however, because he predicated his campaign on the argument that he has the necessary business experience … ‘I'm campaigning as a pro-jobs, Reagan conservative in South Carolina.’”

--VERY SIGNIFICANT: The pro-Gingrich super PAC, Winning Our Future, went up yesterday with its first spot in S.C. Contrary to the hype about Bain, it was a POSITIVE ad promoting Gingrich.

--QUOTE OF THE WEEK – Top Romney official, re exit-poll data: “It turns out the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney is Mitt Romney.”

3 BILLIONAIRES WHO COULD DRAG OUT THE GOP RACE: Sheldon Adelson, Foster Friess and Jon Huntsman Sr. -- Kenneth P. Vogel: “The three men are contributing millions of dollars to outside groups flooding the airwaves in early voting states with brutal ads attacking Romney, and ads backing the candidates they would prefer … Adelson, a Las Vegas casino mogul, has written a $5 million check … to a super PAC backing Newt Gingrich … Huntsman Sr., who made his fortune at the helm of an eponymous chemical and manufacturing company, reportedly has invested millions in a super PAC supporting … his son … Friess, a Wyoming mutual fund master [who calls himself ‘the major investor in the Daily Caller’], acknowledged to POLITICO that he is a major financial backer of a super PAC supporting Rick Santorum called the Red, White and Blue Fund and is preparing to give more …

“The prospect that these candidates could carry on is a testament to the new world of campaign money ushered in by a pair of federal court rulings in 2010: A single wealthy donor can now prop up a presidential campaign with unlimited cash, even if the candidate is getting little traction with voters. ‘I guess if Newt’s got $5 million, it makes sense that Rick [Santorum] should have a little bit,’ said Friess, who has known Santorum since the 1990s and shares his conservative views on social and foreign policy issues. … ‘I believe that Rick Santorum is the most electable candidate. And I’m just thrilled to be able to have played a role so far.’

“Friess did not shy away from the characterization that the $537,000 spent by the Red, White and Blue Fund in Iowa — which dwarfed the $22,000 spent by Santorum’s campaign on ads in the state — helped propel Santorum to a close second to Romney in the state’s caucuses. But Friess laughed off a [post by a contributing blogger] on the liberal Daily Kos headlined ‘Meet Foster Friess, Billionaire Who Bought Iowa for Santorum.’ ‘I told my wife “Wow, I got a bargain,”’ he said, noting that the super PACs and campaigns supporting Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, and Texas Gov. Rick Perry spent far more.” http://bit.ly/xinnf6

MOOD MUSIC – Bloomberg’s Mike Dorning: “With the move to South Carolina, the Republican presidential race is shifting to an electorate that has faced more difficult economic times … The November unemployment rate in the site of the first nominating caucuses, Iowa, was 5.7 percent. In New Hampshire, which hosted the first primary election, it was 5.2 percent. By contrast, the jobless rate in South Carolina was 9.9 percent in November, the most recent month for which state-level figures are available. In the states that host the next nominating contests, unemployment in Nevada is 13 percent and in Florida it is 10 percent.”

--READING BETWEEN THE LINES -- N.Y. Times A19, “Political Memo: A Blurring of the Lines in the Populist vs. Capitalist Debate,” by John Harwood: “Democrats have made inroads in recent elections among affluent, well-educated voters. Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign captured the majority of voters earning more than $200,000 and raised more than $90 million from the securities, finance, hedge fund and banking industries. Republicans have bolstered their support among the sorts of middle and working-class voters who call themselves conservative Christians and identify with the Tea Party. And in 2008 Senator John McCain got more votes among whites earning less than $50,000 than Mr. Obama. … Those are precisely the sorts of voters that Mr. Romney’s rivals are appealing to in South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary by attacking his career at Bain Capital. …

“And that’s why some conservatives see danger in Mr. Romney’s complaint on Tuesday night that Mr. Obama practices a ‘bitter politics of envy’ … Romney has reached out to such working-class Republicans by promising a crackdown on China’s trade practices and a tough stance against illegal immigration. He didn’t mention either in Tuesday night’s speech. But he did offer a cultural appeal reminiscent of the way another Republican patrician, George Bush, used symbols like the American flag to make patriotism a wedge issue … Democrats consider that formulation a device to suggest that Mr. Obama is somehow less than fully American. Framing Mr. Obama’s goal as an ‘entitlement society’ capitalizes on the sense of grievance among many middle-income voters.” http://nyti.ms/wM4HC9

--THE PAPERS: WSJ, lead story, “Romney Lashes Back on Bain: As Campaign Moves to South Carolina, GOP Split Over Attacks on Private Equity” … N.Y. Times, bottom of page, “Economic Woes Loom Larger as G.O.P. Candidates Head South” … L.A. Times A1, bottom right: “Romney can see the finish line from South Carolina.”

** A message from Toyota: Our Toyota team members don't just lend a hand in the places we call home. They lend thousands. Last year alone, Toyota's team members volunteered 100,000 hours in communities all across America. It's how we help make the great community greater still. Check out the action at www.ToyotaInAction.com. **

HAPPENING TODAY: Suze Orman will bring her lifelong mission to protect consumers through financial empowerment to the National Press Club at 10 a.m. as she stands with PBS broadcaster Tavis Smiley for a “Press Conference about preventing consumers from slipping into poverty.” Suze will discuss her PEOPLE FIRST movement on behalf of consumers. Tavis will highlight his effort to restore the nation’s prosperity as more Americans slip into poverty.

SNEAK PEEK: In remarks before more than 250 business leaders and 100 members of the press, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue will outline the Chamber’s policy and political agenda for the year ahead in his “State of American Business Address”: “America’s most pressing economic challenge is the lack of sufficient growth to create jobs, expand incomes, reduce government deficits, and fund essential programs. Our nation’s highest priority must be to put Americans back to work. To achieve this goal, our economy has to grow much faster than it is today. Unfortunately, we think the economy will actually slow down in the early months of the year. We expect growth to average about 2.5 percent in the first half, and then work its way back to about 3 percent by the end of the year.

“The Chamber is putting forward an American Jobs and Growth Agenda with specific ideas to put people back to work—without raising taxes or adding to the deficit. … The business community is excited about building on [our country’s] strengths and growing our economy. We’re ready to invest, eager to compete, and we want to hire. … As the Chamber turns 100 in this pivotal year, we are reaffirming our commitment to free enterprise, the greatest economic system ever devised and the driver of America’s greatness.”

LAUNCHED -- Dwight Holton for Oregon attorney general: “A 1996 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School (his father was the Governor of Virginia from 1970-1974), Dwight went to work … as an Assistant United States Attorney in 1997. … Dwight served as the United States Attorney for Oregon. … Holton lives in Southeast Portland with his wife, Mary Ellen Glynn. Their children, Terence (7) and Fiona (5), attend Portland Public Schools. Dwight volunteers … for a wide range of civic causes, … including his most challenging position as a K–2nd Grade basketball coach.” http://www.holtonfororegon.com

--The (Portland) Oregonian: Holton “joins former Oregon Court of Appeals judge Ellen Rosenblum as a Democratic candidate for the post currently held by [John] Kroger. Kroger said last fall that he would not run for re-election for undisclosed health reasons.”

THE PRESIDENT’S DAY: “On Thursday, the President will attend closed-press meetings at the White House.”

--THE V.P.’s DAY: “In the morning, the Vice President will travel to Ohio. At 12:15 PM, the Vice President and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will deliver remarks on college affordability at Lincoln High School in Gahanna, Ohio. Since the members of Lincoln High School’s senior class were born, published tuition at the Ohio State University has more than tripled. More than two-thirds of Ohio college students take out loans to pay for school. These students graduate with an average debt of over $27,000. The Vice President will discuss the importance of college and the steps the Administration has taken to keep college affordable in Ohio and across the country. He will also call on colleges and universities to do their part to contain costs and ensure college remains within reach for the middle class. … [T]he Vice President’s remarks will be streamed live to www.WhiteHouse.gov/live. At 4:00 PM, the Vice President will attend an event to thank local supporters in the Columbus, Ohio, area. At 5:30 PM, the Vice President will attend a campaign event.”

REMEMBERING ROY ASH – L. A. Times second front – by Dennis McLellan: “Roy L. Ash, a co-founder and former president of Litton Industries who served as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the 1970s during the Nixon and Ford administrations, has died. He was 93. Ash, who had Parkinson’s disease, died Dec. 14 at his home in Los Angeles.”

SPORTS BLINK -- "STEELERS-BRONCOS ON CBS MOST-WATCHED WILD CARD GAME EVER: GAME ALSO MOST-WATCHED PROGRAM SINCE SUPER BOWL XLV" -- NFL release: "Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Denver Broncos game on CBS drew 42.4 million viewers ranking as the most-watched show since Super Bowl XLV and the most-watched Wild Card game ever (topping last year’s Packers-Eagles game on FOX, 39.3 million). The Wild Card games averaged 31 million viewers to rank as the second most-watched Wild Card Weekend ever (32.3 million in 2010). The four games were also the four most-watched shows on television last week (chart below). Saturday night’s Detroit Lions-New Orleans Saints game on NBC drew 31.8 million viewers, marking the third consecutive year with two Wild Card games averaging more than 30.0 million viewers."

DESSERT: David Letterman tries to talk to Kevin Madden, “via hologram,” a la CNN. He instead gets connected to "Al," an old, heavyset man sitting in his boxers in his La-Z-Boy, drinking a beer. Al asks Letterman to set him up with "the busty weather girl from Channel 7." Letterman: "We're trying to get the kinks out of the hologram technology." Video (at the 27:00 mark) http://bit.ly/wHKoMJ

** A message from Toyota: Our Toyota team members don't just lend a hand in the places we call home. They lend thousands. Last year alone, Toyota's team members volunteered 100,000 hours in communities all across America. It's how we help make the great community greater still. Check out the action at www.ToyotaInAction.com. **

****** A message from the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates: UAE airlines have received or have on order more than 800 Boeing aircraft. Emirates is the world's largest operator of Boeing 777s and has 40 Boeing 787-10s currently on order. Flydubai operates an all-Boeing fleet of planes and has a total of 361 Boeing 737s on order. Etihad operates 24 Boeing 777s with 25 more on order, and has an additional $8.7 billion order for Boeing 787-10s. UAE airlines now serve 11 US gateway cities from Dubai and Abu Dhabi with more than 250 weekly nonstop flights. http://politi.co/2AtLDMj ******

About The Author

Mike Allen is the chief White House correspondent for POLITICO. He comes to us from Time magazine where he was their White House correspondent. Prior to that, Allen spent six years at The Washington Post, where he covered President Bush's first term, Capitol Hill, campaign finance, and the Bush, Gore and Bradley campaigns of 2000. Before turning to national politics, he covered schools and local governments in rural counties outside Fredericksburg, Va., for The Free Lance-Star, then wrote about Doug Wilder, Oliver North, Chuck Robb and the Bobbitts for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he nurtured police sources on overnight ride-alongs through housing projects. Allen also covered Mayor Giuliani, the Connecticut statehouse and the wacky rich of Greenwich for The New York Times. Before moving to The Times, he did stints in the Richmond and Alexandria bureaus of The Washington Post. Allen grew up in Orange County, Calif., and has a B.A. from Washington and Lee University, where he majored in politics and journalism.